Camberville Cuisine

So Hyoun and I went to Disney World for Christmas, and my foodie expectations were given a swift kick in the pants.

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which was the best choice we could possibly have made for at least two reasons. The first: I would wake up every morning and open the curtains, and there were gazelles and elands grazing on the savanna grass outside our balcony, and then a giraffe family would come along, including the requisite gawky teenager, and once an errant jackrabbit wandered in, and there were cattle with horns as thick as their head and as wide as their bodies were long, and seriously, probably 95% of the pictures I took were of the animals.

The second: We ate way better than I expected to over the course of the week.

Before this trip, my experiences with Disney “cuisine” warranted the quote marks; because of this, my expectations were set fairly low, and I’d decided going in that I’d be content if we managed to eat some food that didn’t qualify as Americanized chain food. Our meals at Boma and Jiko changed my mindset – completely blew it away.

Almost every morning, I’d go downstairs for the Boma breakfast buffet. Pap with chakalaka and sambal and a side of creamy scrambled eggs; pineapple and assorted melons; quinoa made into a porridge with toasted sweetened quinoa and raisins sprinkled on top. Om nom nom. The dinners we took at Jiko were amazing – the braised beet salad that I’m determined to make part of our dinner rotation at home; the cauliflower soup amuse bouche (MUST REPLICATE); the lamb loin and the curry shrimp and perfectly seared tuna – you guys, I didn’t know Disney knew how to cook anything below medium, and I admit it, I WAS WRONG. You just apparently have to know where to eat. (And make reservations.)

Boma and Jiko. 2901 Osceola Parkway, Bay Lake, FL. 407.938.3000.

So Hyoun’s back in San Francisco right now on a business trip, less than three weeks after we were last there. He forgot to bring me along, though! ;)

Thus, I treated myself to Myers + Chang for dinner tonight. Sat at the bar and devoured an oyster omelette, braised pork belly buns, and a bittersweet chocolate cake with coffee sauce. Hyoun hates eggs; can’t even stand the smell of them, so eating an omelette is a rare treat these days, and this was a delectably flavorful variation. I love their weekend dim sum, and I work close by enough that I can generally beat the crowd for weeknight dinner, which is well worth it. :)

So I took myself out for food Hyoun finds repulsive. In turn, he took himself out for food I generally avoid: a hot dog. (But at least it was from Taylor’s!) This amuses me.

Myers + Chang. 1145 Washington St, Boston. Taylor’s Automatic Refresher. 1 Ferry Bldg, Marketplace Shop #6, San Francisco. 866.328.3663.

Camberville is my home, but Vancouver is a damned close second in my heart. I’ve been here a number of times in the past, but it really has been too long since I was last here in 2002. I’ve gone biking almost every day we’ve been here thanks to the kind people at Bayshore Bike Rentals, around Stanley Park and False Creek and across the inlet to Kits Beach and Granville Island. (Hyoun prefers the power of his own two feet and has gone running just about every day as well; it’s part of why I chose the hotel I did in the West End rather than something closer to downtown.) We’ve gone to the Aquarium and Science World, wandered through Gastown and Chinatown, Yaletown and Coal Harbour, Kitsilano.

We’ve eaten very, very well this entire vacation, which should surprise approximately no one. ;) Seasonal Indian delicacies at Vij’s (lamb “lollipops” I couldn’t stop chowing down on, among other excellencies), charcuterie galore at Salt, probably too many cupcakes at Cupcakes, cheese from Les Amis du Fromage, and Filipino baked goodies from New Town Bakery (which really does have the “best buns in town”). But the best surprise? Kingyo Izakaya, which we loved so much we went twice.

I desperately, desperately want an izakaya like this in Cambridge, so that I can become a regular.

Highlights:

- the freshness of their fish. Sashimi, raw and just out of the ocean, the way it was intended.
- their carpaccios. Sockeye salmon is rather harder to get back east, so having it this way was a treat – melty salmon and ahi tuna with garlic chips and wasabi mayo.
- so many stone-grilled foods! I’m glad Hungry Mother introduced me to beef tongue a few months ago, because I targeted it when I saw it on the menu and MY MOUTH WAS SO HAPPY.
- Hyoun, ever the fried-chicken-loving Southern boy, devoured the chicken kara-age and the pork belly bibimbap.
- the dan dan noodles were so flavorful and porky and sesame-y.
- I have got to duplicate their almond tofu at home. So simple and light a dessert, yet so satisfying! Hyoun preferred his chestnut-yuzu gelato, but he’s a bigger chestnut fan than I.

We head to Seattle tonight for a wedding, but I don’t want to leave. Can we move here someday? :)

Kingyo Izakaya. 871 Denman St, Vancouver. 604.680.1677.

The South is trying to kill me with cholesterol, but I’m still ticking.

Tuesday: Arrived at Hyoun’s parents’ house. Ate a ton of Korean food. Napped frequently.

Wednesday: Wandered out of the house around noon to be introduced to Krystal’s sliders. Learned that sliders are, apparently, mini-burgers on dinner-roll-sized buns, and not just the New England name for a screen door that runs along a track. Learned that you’re supposed to order them by the dozen. Ate three and gawked at the boy as he devoured the rest and went back for more.

We went shopping to prep for Thanksgiving dinner after that, and we found:

A Chanukah calendar! Lift one of the candles (except the shamash) each night, and you’re rewarded with a piece of chocolate gelt. I highly approve.

Thursday: Feast! Turkey, natch, with yummy gravy and cranberry-Asian pear chutney, apricot-chestnut stuffing, garlic mashers, candied sweet potatoes, cider-roasted veggies (carrots, parsnips, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms), buttered corn, pan de sal, sesame green beans, spinach salad with goat cheese and candied pecans and blueberry vinaigrette dressing; strawberry-rhubarb pie for dessert.

Friday: Dinner at the Tomato Head; Hyoun and I split a soft-crust pizza with lamb sausage, sundried tomatoes, olives, capers, roasted garlic, and goat cheese. There was a street fair in Market Square, with an ice rink and fair foods, so naturally I had to try the fried Oreos for dessert! They are oh, so chewy and chocolaty and creamy in the middle; it’s exactly what fried dough is *missing* when it’s by itself.

Saturday: Started off the morning with a long drive through the Smokies; gorgeously ethereal at the bottom due to the smoky fog, almost seeming more real as you glanced up towards the summits; feeling cradled in their depths while driving through them, so tall there was no visible sky through the windshield.

Farmers’ market (in farm stalls; more reminiscent of the Big E to me!) breakfast of cinnamon rolls and hot mulled cider; picked up two pounds of salty Amish butter, a jar of sourwood honey, and hot pork skins (if there’s ever a Filipino-Southern fusion restaurant, it’ll start with cracklins/chicharones).

Later that evening, after we toured the Biltmore House, we met up with Emily and Ben for winter coffee drinks at the Dripolator, then sesame noodles at The Noodle Shop, and dessert at the Cupcake Corner. Things I never knew about Asheville: that it had so much yum packed into such a compact area! It’s all about Pack Square, I guess.

So an ex-boyfriend of mine is in T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

We’d been originally introduced by a friend who emphatically pointed out our mutual love of food. He was definitely a better cook than I – I’m the baker in all of my relationships – and we ate very well during our year or so together, even though I mostly didn’t cook meat at home because it terrified me. (He was most emphatically in charge of the Thanksgiving turkey breast.)

For the most part, it was a long-distance relationship; I lived in Boston, and he was a law student in DC. That summer, though, he was doing an internship in his old college stomping grounds of Kenosha, WI, so I went out to visit him there a couple of times. We went on picnics by the lake, and to the Jelly Belly factory, and Six Flags – but he failed to even mention to me the existence of the Mars Cheese Castle. Apparently they have some of the best cheese curds in the Midwest! And I’ve never had cheese curds, and I hear they squeak between your teeth?

I had to learn about this mystical, magical Castle of Cheese from Hyoun and Emily tonight. We were talking about weddings and what one considers important at them, and how the people who own Cabot Cheese spent most of their money on flowers at their wedding; I said, “Geez, I think I’d spend that money on, well, cheese!” and that’s how it came up. But the important part is THERE IS A CHEESE CASTLE AND MY EX-BOYFRIEND WHO LIVED IN THAT TOWN FAILED TO TAKE ME THERE WHEN I VISITED. TWICE. He loses at teh Käsenets.

Update: Little did I know that five days later, I would get to experience the Formaggio cheese cave. In my own backyard, practically. Cool and damp and full of so many delicious cheeses.

Formaggio Kitchen. 244 Huron Ave, Cambridge. 617.354.4750. Open M-F 9-7, S 9-6, Su 10-4. Mars Cheese Castle. 2800 120th Avenue, Kenosha, WI. 262.859.2244.